Pellet-forming machine



1965 v. J. LUNDELL 3,203,366

PELLET-FORMING MACHINE Filed Dec. 9, 1960 r 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 IN VEN TOR.

Ker/ran J Zunael/ M4,. 44% H7 RIVE'Y United States Patent 3,203,366 PELLET-FORMING MACHINE Vernon .I. Lundell, Cherokee, Iowa, assignor to Massey- Ferguson Services N.V., Curacao, Netherlands Antilles, a corporation of the Netherlands Antilles Filed Dec. 9, 1960. Ser. No. 74,919 1 Claim. (Cl. 10714) My invention relates to a pellet-forming machine, and to a special improvement on the same.

An object of my invention is to provide an improvement in pellet-forming devices, and wherein said pellets will be formed together with resultant means for allowing release of the pellets from the machine after the pellets have set.

A further object of my invention is to provide an arrangement wherein the pellets are suitably dried, and which arrangement also provides means for cooling the pellet-forming dies.

With these and other objects in view, my invention consists in the construction, arrangement, and combination of the various parts of my device, whereby the objects contemplated are attained, as hereinafter more fully set forth, pointed out in my claim, and illustrated in the accompanying drawings, in which:

FIGURE 1 is an end view of a portion of the machine of my invention with fragmentary sections,

FIGURE 2 is an enlarged detail of a modification,

FIGURE 3 is an enlarged detail,

FIGURE 4 is a plan view of the pellet drying arrangement with fragmentary sections,

FIGURE 5 is an end view of FIGURE 4, and

FIGURE 6 is a sectional view taken along the lines 6-6 of FIGURE 4.

My invention contemplates the provision of a pelletforming unit which will provide several advantages which will be explained.

The present invention relates to improvements in devices of the type shown in formerly co-pending application, Serial No. 797,210, filed March 4, 1959, for a Watering and Pelleting Machine, and in my formerly co-pending application entitled Watering and Pelleting Machine With Crop Moistening Device, Serial No. 30,000, filed May 18, 1960. These prior applications have been subsequently abandoned and replaced by continuationin-part application Serial No. 153,599, filed November 20, 1961.

As in application Serial No. 30,000, in FIG. 1 of the drawings of the present application, the character 34 indicates a hopper, the character 50 indicates adjustable bolts which secure the break-off members having the sloping portions 52. The character 48 indicates a portion of a ring-shaped or annular element which extends from the plate 44.

The character 57 also indicates a further plate spaced from the plate 44, the character 40 indicating impelling flanges attached to the end of an auger or conveyor unit 32 the character 41 indicating supports to which are attached the pins 42, upon which pins are journalled the serrated rollers 43.

It will be apparent, therefore, that the plates 44 and 57, together with the ring-shaped or annular element 48, define a cylindrical chamber into which chopped crop material is delivered by the auger 32. The chopped crop material is spread about the inner surface of the ring-shaped or annular member 43 by the impelling flanges 40 which are carried by the auger conveying unit 32 in position to be engaged and pressed against the inner side of the annular element 48 by the serrated rollers 43. For reasons that will become apparent hereinafter, the annular member 48 is enclosed within a casing 63A (FIGS. 4-6).

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The above description relates to the various improvements disclosed in my aforesaid co-pending application, Serial No. 30,000, this improvement disclosing the device wherein an auger feeds the chopped crop material which is impelled through annularly positioned cells of a certain construction, however, the present invention pertains to an improved form of such cells as will now be described.

The character 60 indicates bolts which are attached to the circular plates 44 and 57, the character 61 indicating a series of triangular bosses, the character 62 indicating pins which are pivotally secured between the plates 44 and 57, and attached to the pins 62 are the lengthened plates 63, and attached as at 64 to one of the plates is a hydraulic cylinder 65 in which is received a piston 66 which bears against the further plate 6 3. The character 67 indicates a ring-shaped tube containing oil, this ring-shaped tube being attached to a suitable oil supply source which is under a constant pressure, and communicating with the tube 67 are the various inlet tubes 68 (see FIGURE 3), this construction thereby providing means for insuring a constant fixed supply of oil under pressure to all of the various cylinders 65 so that when the radially impelled crop is driven radially outwardly to form the pellets, this constant pressure will insure that the walls 63 will be forced towards the intermediate partitions 69 in case the pressure drops in the various spaces 70 to thereby restrict this portion of the cell so that the pellet-forming material can build up to form the necessary pellet.

Although the construction shown in FIGURE 1 discloses that construction wherein the intermediate partitions 69 are rigidly fixed, however, the modification shown in FIGURE 2 discloses an arrangement wherein the partitions 69 will not be provided, and wherein the same results will be provided.

The present device also includes further advantages as follows: Usually when the pellets are formed and when the machine is allowed to set over night for instance, in most cases the pellets will have the tendency of binding against the walls 63, and which pellets cannot then be discharged from the machine when the centrifugal action is applied. However, by releasing the pressure passing to the various cylinders, and since the walls will not be exerting pressure when the pressure is thus released, the normal centrifugal action will allow the pellets to be released from the wall surfaces whereby they will be discharged from the machine. In this manner a convenient control can be provided for this purpose.

FIGURES 4 to 6 inclusive illustrate a further improvement over my aforesaid co-pending application Serial No. 797,210, and in which co-pending application the character 106 designates a motor or engine adapted to drive the pulleys 113 which drive the belts 114 which drive the further pulleys 115' which drive the auger shaft 31 which in turn is attached to the auger 32 which feeds into a casing 63A.

In the aforesaid application the character 99 also indicates a chute into which the resultant pellets are discharged, the character 116 indicating pulleys attached to the shaft 31, the character 119 indicating a further pulley attached to the shaft 31, and passing over the pulleys 116 are the belts 117 which engage the further pulleys 118 which are driven by means of the shaft 107a which is driven from the transmission housing 108, which is driven by means of the further shaft 109 which passes to a tractor which draws the arrangement through the agency of the tongue 110.

The pulleys 113 are attached to a shaft 107 which drives a further chopping member shown in my co-pending application, which discharges material into the chute 97, which material is thereby fed into the pellet-forming machine as described in my copending application, and as partially illustrated in FIGURES 1 to 3 inclusive herein. The motor or engine 1% is adapted to provide a booster engine to drive the arrangement.

The character 122 indicates wheels upon which the framework is journalled, and the character 121 indicates a pump driven by means of the belt 120 which engages the pulley 119, and also attached to the shaft 31 is a further pulley 124 which drives the belt 125 which passes over a pulley 126 attached to a shaft 127 which is adapted to drive the conveyor within the chute 99.

The casing 63A is made of suificient diameter to provide an annular space at 200, which space will be provided between the outer boundaries of the casing and the plate 57, this space serving to receive the discharged pellets and whereby such pellets will drop into the lower end of the chute 99, and thence be carried upwardly and discharged.

Communicating to the casing 63A at 201 I provide a neck 202 which extends into a blower 203 having the radially positioned paddles 204 which are driven by means of a shaft 205 which is attached to a bevel gear 206 which meshes with a further bevel gear 207 which is attached to a shaft 208 which is journalled in a suitable bearing 209, which shaft 208 is attached to a pulley 210 which engages the belts 114, this arrangement then serving to operate the blower unit 203.

Communicating at 211 to the blower unit 203 is a housing 212 which communicates with an opening 213 which is provided in a housing 214, which housing 214 completely encloses the motor or engine 106, and which will then thereby concentrate the heat from this motor, which heat will thereby pass through the housing 212 into the blower 203, which heat will then be discharged through the opening 201 and into the annular space 200 of the casing d3A.

The discharge of the heat into this space will thereby take the heat from the motor 106 and force this heat into the material coming out of the dies, which in effect will dry the wafers more rapidly. Also, since this heat is less than the heat of the dies, it will operate to cool the dies iii to a lower temperature, thereby rendering the die action more eflicient, and at the same time the rapid absorption of the heat in this manner will have the tendency or" keeping the motor cooler.

It will nw be seen that I have provided the advantages mentioned in the objects of my invention with further advantages being apparent.

Some changes may be made in the construction and arrangement of the parts of my invention without departing from the real spirit and purpose of my invention, and it is my intention to cover by my claim any modified forms of structure or use of mechanical equivalents which may be reasonably included within their scope.

I claim as my invention:

A pellet-forming machine comprising a generally cylindrical stationary chamber, said chamber having an open annular portion including a plurality of radially positioned partitions therein, and means for impelling material received in said chamber between said partitions for forming the same into pellets, an auger for conveying material into said stationary chamber about the inner side of said annular portion, a motor externally of said chamber for driving said auger, a housing enclosing said motor, a blower, said housing communicating to said blower, said blower communicating to said chamber to provide drying means for said pellets.

References Citedby the Examiner UNITED STATES PATENTS 263,540 8/82 Landry 93 655,071 7/00 Galbraith 100-93 2,200,379 5/40 Williams 34-86 X 2,651,269 9/53 French 1074 2,777,212 1/57 McOmber 34-86 2,798,444 7/57 Meakin 10714 2,887,718 5/59 Curran et al. 18l2 2,908,038 10/59 Meakin 1812 2,961,700 11/60 Meakin l07l4 X ROBERT E. PULFREY, Primary Examiner.

A. G. STONE, I. D. SEERS, CHARLES A. WILL- MUTH, Examiners. 

